Deloitte : The new fiscal provisions must be doubled by efforts for the increase of collection

The tax changes announced by the authorities these days will have a moderate impact on the business environment. However, beyond their complexity and direct effect on the taxpayers concerned, it is to be appreciated that many of them are subject to debate and approval six months before the entry into force, according to an opinion material made by Deloitte Romania consultants.   On the other hand, in parralel to the measures announced, the measures for the increase of the state budget collection must be continued, so that on average term the discussions connected to the necessity to increase taxes must be avoided.The draft for emergency ordnance published by the ministry of finances covers provisions from multiple fiscal practice areas, among which direct taxation, indirect taxation or local taxes.According to the quoted source, the increase of dividend taxation should be correlated to the reduction of work taxation.In the area of direct taxes, one of the most important measures is the taxation regime applicable to micro-enterprises. The corporate tax is 16%, but currently most companies fall into the category of micro-enterprises and are taxed as such.Thus, the moment the minimum profit tax will be introduced at global level of 15%, according to the international agreement signed at the level of the Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development (OCED), our country would have to lose if they do not take measures to include more companies in the area of profit taxation.Moreover, the draft includes the elimination of specific tax, applicable in the domain of HoReCa, starting with 1st August 2022, and the entities previously included in this tax will be taxed with 1% turnover (similar to micro-entities).The gradual elimination of the fiscal incentives offered in certain domains is, similarly, included in PNRR, but at least in the case of facilities in the agricultural domain, both their introduction, after the approval of PNRR and the amendment of the application rules in such a short period of time is a proof of inconsistency.Similarly, the draft includes other measures in the area of direct taxes, such as taxation of gambling revenues with rates between 10% and 40% or a series of deductions to revenue taxation implementation.   At the same time, in the area of indirect taxation, most measures aim at reduced rates of VAT and excises. Thus, the authorities propose, among others, the increase of VAT in the area of HoReCa from 5% to 9% and the elimination of reduced quota of VAT of 9% for non-alcoholic drinks with added sugar and other sweeteners or aromas ( get into the standard area of 19%).Another measure in the domain is that referring to the reduced quota of VAT of 5% to residence acquisition – at the beginning of this year the maximum value for this quota was increased, from 450,000 lei to 700,000 lei, and now the authorities propose the reduction of the ceiling to 600,000 lei.At the same time, the taxable value of residential buildings will be calculated on the basis of values covered in the market studies made by the National Union of Public Notaries in Romania, annually published on the site of the organization. Moreover, according to Deloitte, the minimum limits of the taxation quotas both for residential buildings and non-residential buildings will be increased.‘These are, as a whole, the measures proposed by authorities whose budgetary impact is estimated at 2.2 billion lei supplementary revenue for the budget in 2022,and 13.4 billion lei in 2023. The budgetary fiscal situation shows, evidently, the necessity to increase revenues for the state budget, but, taking into consideration the challenges which the active taxpayers face in Romania during this period, it is recommended that the authorities concentrate, in the future, mainly on measures for the increase of revenues collection for the state budget, by the reduction of fiscal evasion, so that the taxpayers who are correct get a predictable and competitive environment. This year were already made important steps for this purpose, such as fiscal administration digitization, by the introduction of SAF-T (the electronic system of fiscal report), Ro e-Factura or Ro e-Transport and the measures of this kind must continue’ the material says.